This long-awaited book is a culmination of at least twenty years’ research and deals with the intertidal zone of the Severn Estuary, focusing on the Bronze Age activity in and around the sites of Redwick and Peterstone; both sites occupy tracts of land within the Gwent Levels. Although the book focuses on the Bronze Age, there is some discussion of the preceding Neolithic evidence as well as the succeeding Iron Age, revealing the complexity of this multiphased and multifaceted landscape for both sites. The well-crafted book is divided into four sections (I to IV) – collectively organised into seventeen chapters; the first two sections are concerned with the results of post-excavation analysis of the two sites.
In the first two (contextual) chapters, Professor Bell provides the reader with a detailed account of the excavation of five buildings from the Redwick site (Chapter 1) and the archaeology contained within the palaeochannels and a trackway at Peterstone (Chapter 2). A large quantity of wood was retrieved from both sites, in particular the well-preserved timbers that formed the various construction phases of the Redwick buildings. A subsequent report produced by Nigel Nayling on the dendrochronology is incorporated into Chapter 4.
In addition to the timbers, a large quantity of botanical evidence was retrieved from both sites, including pollen and plant macrofossils and charcoal remains. Some of the material retrieved from the buildings at Redwick was chronometrically dated (Chapter 5). Further environmental analysis was undertaken on insect remains and animal bone, the latter assisting in understanding the economy of the communities inhabiting this settlement. As well as the physical evidence associated with house construction at Redwick and the artefacts contained in and around each building, Martin Bell’s team also uncovered a series of footprints that would have belonged to various members of the Redwick community (Chapter 7). In addition, hoof-prints belonging to bovines, cervids, horse and pig were found.
Section II of the book is concerned with the post-excavation methods and detailed results from the Peterstone palaeochannel site. The methods employed are similar to those applied to the Redwick site and the results are equally fascinating. Particular chapters that this reviewer enjoyed reading included the fieldwork (Chapter 9) and the wood artefacts retrieved from the palaeochannels (Chapter 10). Sections III and IV include general discussions on salt marsh environments and economies of the Bronze Age. These chapters (14 to 17) provide excellent contextual support to the first thirteen chapters (ie the site archaeology) and some elements from these should have been incorporated into an introduction.
Given all this data and the diversity of the two sites, does a book such as this deliver a comprehensive account of one of Britain’s busiest archaeological areas? The answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’. The book is extremely well written, providing the reader with a detailed narrative of Bronze Age life within the intertidal zone. The text is supported by excellent drawings from Jennifer Foster and archive imagery from the past twenty years or so of fieldwork (including an invaluable colour section at the back of the book).
If this reviewer has a concern with a project such as this it is that because the archaeology is dynamic subsequent research and developer-led projects will continue following the publication of this book, further complicating an already complex Bronze Age history.
